Call for Prayer as Cyclone Yasi Hits Flood-Ridden Parts of Australia

People pack a shopping mall used as an evacuation shelter in Cairns, Australia, Wednesday, Feb. 2, 2011, as a monster cyclone approaches the northeast coast with furious winds, rains and surging seas on a scale unseen in generations. Gusts up to 186 mph (300 kph) were expected when Cyclone Yasi strikes the coast late Wednesday after whipping across Australia's Great Barrier Reef.

Salvation Army Australia has called on the country to unite in prayer as cyclone Yasi rips through the already flood-ridden state of Queensland.

“We want to pray for safety, for perseverance and togetherness in what will be an extremely difficult time for so many people,” said Captain Meaghan Gallagher.

Cyclone Yasi crossed the coast of the northeastern state at midnight local time, or Wednesday 6 a.m. ET, causing carnage as heavy rain and winds up to 189mph tore roofs off houses and knocked down power poles and trees, cutting power across the state’s north. The state’s weather bureau reported rainfall of more than 13 inches in affected towns.

The unprecedented storm was listed by the Bureau of Meteorology as a Category 5, the highest on the Australian classification system as it hit the coast, but has weakened since, downgrading to Category 4 at 3 a.m. Thursday local time and Category 3 at 5 a.m. as it began to move further inland.

The Salvation Army was already working to assist victims of the January flood crisis that affected over 75 percent of the state, when evacuation warnings were first issued.

Forty-seven clients from the Christian charity’s homeless facility in Cairns were evacuated to a nearby primary school due to the threat of surging water.